WEGNER AND WEDNESDAY

In 2005, on October 2nd, talent scouts would have been "on the ready" as Brazil took on Mexico in an Under 17 World Cup Final in Peru. Brazil's "youngsters" defied their "favourites tags" by losing 0-3 to the Mexicans, a team inspired by Carlos Vela...ring any bells? Here he is....

Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005	Guadalajara	0	(0)
2005–2012	Arsenal	29	(3)
2005–2006	→ Celta Vigo (loan)!!	0	(0)
2006–2007	→ Salamanca (loan)	31	(8)
2007–2008	→ Osasuna (loan)	33	(3)
2010–2011	→ West Bromwich Albion (loan)	8	(2)
2011–2012	→ Real Sociedad (loan)	35	(12)
2012–2018	Real Sociedad	184	(54)
2018–2024	Los Angeles FC	152	(78)
Total		472	(160)

Vela attracted interest from a number of European clubs. Where there's World class young footballers, Arsene Wenger isn't usually too far away, so he snapped up Vela, a 16 year old potential star, for a cool £2.5 million. Arsenal won the race for his signature in November 2005, on a five-year deal for a £125,000 fee that rose to £550,000 after he played 50 first-team games. However, since English work permit restrictions for non-EU citizens prevented him from playing in England,  Arsenal quickly loaned him out to Spanish club Celta Vigo in February 2006, but he was returned right away with no games played, as shown above.

The other star of the tournament also caught the eye of Premier League scouts, as Manchester United picked up Anderson (on your right) for the rather more inflated sum of £17m two years later. 

There wasn't much South American skill on show at Selhurst Park in 1991 on this date, as Wimbledon and Sheffield Wednesday played in front of the lowest "top-flight" audience since ther Second World War as just 3,121 turned out to see the Dons beat Wednesday 2-1.

THE FIRST THURSDAY IN OCTOBER. TOFFEES

YES....It's National Poetry Day, the first Thursday in October; but you knew that already!! The National Football Museum in Manchester had an exhibition, by their "Poet in Residence", Paul Cookson when there were published poems on display.  Paul brought together a number of his poems to help "illustrate" our national game, as well as a wide range of other topics. 

https://paulcooksonpoet.co.uk/

Paul is an Everton fan, so I am prepared to subject you Liverpool chaps (and others), to this piece of his work, as a taster. 

Home

It’s who we are
It’s what we do
It’s why we’re here
It’s me and you
It’s where we laugh
It’s where we cry
And where we shout and gasp and groan
It’s where we meet
Week by week
Everton – at home
Everton – at home

At home with those who care
At home with those who dare to dream
More than just a football crowd
More than just a football team

It’s church and it’s belonging
Weekly mass – communion
It’s faith and hope and love and more
It’s family, friends, our union

At home we know our places
The special points where we all meet
And all the usual faces
The click clack of a myriad seats

That music before kick off
That heralds expectation
The Z Cars Theme, A Grand Old Team
Excitement and anticipation

Not just what happens on the pitch
Those in blue on Goodison green
Important landmarks of our lives
Marked by matches we’ve all seen

Guardians of tradition
We pass that baton on
The heroes of the past
The heroes yet to come
Those magic moments that we shared
The joy and pain we’ve known
It’s where we meet – week by week
Everton – at home

The guiding lights on Winter’s nights
The Grand Old Lady’s throne
It’s where we meet – week by week
Everton – at home

Born not manufactured
Never on your own
It’s where we meet – week by week
Everton – at home

It’s who we are
It’s what we do
It’s why we’re here
It’s me and you
It’s where we pray - on Saturday
For future hopes unknown
Our history and legacy
Those times to come for you and me
It’s where we meet
Week by week
Everton – at home
Everton – at home

You will, no doubt, do some more research on the www. If you are a teacher, then his work will bring joy to many of your young students (and old ones). If you are a (grand) parent then this solves Christmas presents! Go on, treat them. https://paulcooksonpoet.co.uk/

The Footballer’s Prayer

Our team
Which art eleven
Hallowed be thy game
Our match be won
Their score be none
On turf as we score at least seven
Give us today no daily red … card
And forgive us our lost passes
As we forgive those Who lose passes against us
Lead us not into retaliation
And deliver us from penalties
For three is the kick off
The power and scorer
For ever and ever
Full time

DRAKE AND DOCHERTY

Some of you may recognise the christian names of two of the English Football League's greatest managers. I wonder if any of the present day goings on were actually being employed in their time, but without all the publicity....pre-IT etc you know! Chelsea FC was a bit of a music hall joke before Ted Drake arrived as club manager in 1952. Drake had been a successful forward in his younger years, a famous forward in the 1930s.

On this day in 1961, Chelsea, in history, had won very little, and quite frankly the club was a bit of a joke, but Drake had been a famous forward playing with Arsenal and England in the 1930s. His club and he won two League titles and an FA Cup and Drake was a top scorer for his team, one season scoring 42 goals, including the winner in the 1936 FA Cup Final and memorably seven goals in one match against Aston Villa in 1935, still a bit of a record!! As a manager he could be regarded as a bit special. 

Chelsea had done little to make its supporters cheery and the first thing Drake did was to change the clu's "homely" image. The club crest at the time of his arrival featured a cartoon of its homely image. The club crest featured a smily Chelsea Pensioner!! This was jettisoned for a "Rangers-style" CFC Logo, soon to become a rampant lion, still used today. The club was no longer to be known as the "Pensioners", becoming The Blues; minor changes of course but ones that instill a winning mentality....as I write this, the Manchester City "goings on" is on the radio and goodness knows where that will end up!!

In 1954/55, the title was expected to be contested between Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Chelsea no where to be included in "the race", especially since they lost their first 4 matches. (as I write the "present Premier League controversy" occupies my radio on Talksport!!)

Drake's side, built around players, Peter Sillett and Ron Greenwood (you should know these two...if not certainly "Ron"). Roy Bentle and was a strong foward...they were all battlers. Chelsea was strengthened and lost only three of their next 25 matches to take the League title from Wolves. 

Despite this success, the Club was criticised much for its "style of play" (rather like the criticism thrown as Mourinho's team when they all had so much success, recently!). Jealousy?

After several mid-table finishes and a slow start in 1961-62, Drake was sacked. He was replaced by an eager player-coach, Tommy Docherty, who couldn't turn things around quickly and soon after an inauspicious start against Blackpool (not a bad side in those days!!), the trend was set and the club was relegated!! But, just as Drake had modernised the club in the 1950s, so Docherty would do so in the new decade. The "new" Chelsea was promoted from Division Two, featuring Ron Harris, Terry Venables and Bobby Tambling and a few others!! They came to epitomise the club's 1960s and maybe set a trend for present day success?

 

29th of the 9th

 29th September 1971

Chelsea recorded the highest score by an English club in a European competition. They beat Jeunesse Hautcharage of Luxembourg 13-0 in the European Cup Winners Cup at Stamford Bridge to complete a 21-0 aggregate victory. Peter Osgood scored five on the night.

Chelsea's record 13-0 win over Jeunesse Hautcharage in 1971 ON 29 September, 55 years ago , Chelsea recorded their widest margin of victory, beating Jeunesse Hautcharage 13-0 in the second leg of their first-round meeting in the Cup Winners' Cup.

The tie was effectively over after the first leg, with Chelsea beating Hautcharage, an amateur side, 0-8 in Luxembourg. But the 27,621 people who turned up at Stamford Bridge for the second leg were treated to a match of historic proportions.

Striker Peter Osgood started the scoring deluge, providing the opening goal in the fourth minute, then adding another two minutes later. By halftime, the Blues were leading 6-0 with additional goals from Alan Hudson (11'), John Hollins (13', pen.), David Webb (23'), and Ron Harris (44').

In the second half, Hautcharage successfully defended their goal until the 61st minute, when Tommy Baldwin increased the lead to 7-0. More goals soon followed, including two more from Baldwin (68', 90'), a second-half hat-trick from Osgood (63', 80', 88'), and one from Peter Houseman (77').

The final score of 13-0 set a single-game Chelsea record and, with a combined score of 21, also beat the previous European aggregate record of eighteen.

Unfortunately for Chelsea, their scoring fortune ended in the next round, where they lost to Swedish side, Atvidaberg, on away goals, 1-1.

CELTIC AND STEIN

It was sixty years ago, on Wednesday, September 28, 1966, that Glasgow Celtic played their first ever European Cup tie and set out on a road that led all the way to the Final in Lisbon, the following May.

Swiss champions, FC Zurich, were the visitors to Celtic Park for the first round, first leg tie, and a crowd of 50,000 packed into Paradise for the match played under the floodlights. It was a tough physical test for Jock Stein's side as Zurich were intent on trying to knock Celtic out of the attacking rhythm that had seen them start the 1966/67 season so well.

After a goal-less first-half, Celtic stepped up the pressure and got the goals that their dominance deserved. The honour of Celtic’s first ever European Cup goal fell to Tommy Gemmell, who picked up a pass from John Clark, strode forward and from over 30 yards out hit a powerful shot which crashed in off the underside the crossbar, leaving Zurich goalkeeper, Otmar Iten, with no chance.

The goal galvanised Celtic, who pushed forward in search of a second, roared on by the supporters. Within five minutes, they doubled their lead. Joe McBride, who had missed a couple of chances earlier in the game, fired home a shot from the edge of the box following an interchange of passes with Bertie Auld that saw the midfielder set up his striking team-mate with an impetuous back-heel which fooled the Zurich defenders.

The result could have been even better for Celtic when McBride appeared to score in the dying seconds of the match. The striker headed home a cross from close-range, but it was ruled out by the Danish referee who explained that he’d already blown his whistle for full-time, which could only have happened when the ball was in mid-flight towards the Zurich goal. It was a bizarre decision to end the game and Celtic thus had to be content with a 2-0 lead to take to Switzerland for the second leg of the tie, on October 5.

Celtic competed for five trophies in the 1966–67 season and the club won all of them: the Scottish League, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, the Glasgow Cup, and the European Cup, and completed the only ever European Quintuple. However, their European Cup victory from this season qualified them for the World Championship the following season, which they went on to lose in a playoff to Racing. Over the course of this season, Celtic scored a world record 196 goals in the major competitions they took part in. The team from this season is commonly known as the Lisbon Lions, because the European Cup Final was held in Lisbon.

1966–67 season
Manager	Jock Stein
Scottish Division One	1st
Scottish Cup	Winners
Scottish League Cup	Winners
Glasgow Cup	Winners
European Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: Stevie Chalmers  All: Joe McBride
Average home league attendance	31,082

CELTIC: Simpson, Gemmell, O’Neill, Murdoch, McNeill, Clark, Johnstone, McBride, Chalmers, Auld, Hughes.

A TIPPLE BEFORE THE CUP

In the European Cup (yes, the famed historic competition!!) in season 1978/9, a first round tie, Juventus was beaten by Glasgow Rangers and Real Madrid by Grasshoppers Zurich.....two shock results. The beaten clubs could easily have been Finalists (but they weren't!!). Liverpool was the reigning European Cup holders and hadn't been knocked out of European tournaments for four years; having won the UEFA Cup in 1976 and the European Cup in 1977 (somehow that works out as four years!). The Merseysiders were drawn against Nottingham Forest who had beaten Liverpool to the English Football League title and in the League Cup the previous season. But of course it was a typical Brian Clough master class that ruined the Pool's record!

On September 13th, the first leg of the tournament, at The City Ground, Forest won 2-0 and it was a 22 year old Garry Birtles, thrown into the "deep end" by Clough for only his third appearance for Forest. "Birtles did well," said Clough, "Two years ago he was laying tiles on roofs and if he doesn't score again on Saturday, he'll be up there again!!" Birtles didn't score but was retained by his "generous" manager!! With a large prize at stake, Forest were nervous going up to Anfield two weeks later. Always ready to show his lads something special, Clough said to one of his younger lads, "Right get the players a drink!" remembered Tony Woodcock, who said, "We each had a bottle of beer and later, the boss encouraged us to have a glass of wine, or two, with our pre-match meal, at the locally booked hotel." With a couple of hours of sleep on the coach to Anfield, Forest was relaxed and held out for a 0-0 draw in a match Liverpool never threatened to score! 

"They threw everything at us, except the docks," smiled Clough, "but we didn't panic and Forest went on to WIN the European Cup. Clough also pulled the same stunt that season, before their League Cup Final against Southampton, producing a crate of beer, ordering his lads to "tuck in". Result? Forest won 3-2. En Route, Forest beat AEK Athens aggregate (1-2,1-5) = 7-2, Grasshopper (4-1,1-1)= 5-2 , Koln (3-3,1-0) = 4-3. In the FINAL (30th May) at The Olympiastadion, Munich.... Malmo 0-1 Forest. Trevor Francis scored the goal after 45 minutes. 57,000 saw it! NOTE...not a Forest player holding the Cup of course!!

Event	1978–79 European Cup
Malmö FF Nottingham Forest 0 1
Date	30 May 1979
Venue	Olympiastadion, Munich
Referee	Erich Linemayr (Austria)
Attendance	68,500

FIRST IN EUROPE

 26th September 1956

The first European Cup  match  (note, this was before the various present European Cup/League competitions were put into place) was played on English soil. Manchester United entertained the Belgians of Anderlecht at Maine Road. In front of 40,000 fans, United took the lead after only 9 minutes with a wonder goal from Tommy Taylor and went on to win.....by 10-0 (12-0 on aggregate). Dominating Europe was going to be easy....wasn't it!

Date	Match	Result	Score	Competition
12 Sep 1956	Anderlecht v Manchester United	W	0-2	European Cup
26 Sep 1956	Anderlecht v Manchester United	W	0-10	European Cup
13 Nov 1968	Manchester United v Anderlecht	W	3-0	European Cup
27 Nov 1968	Anderlecht v Manchester United	L	3-1	European Cup
13 Sep 2000	Manchester United v Anderlecht	W	5-1	UEFA Champions League
24 Oct 2000	Anderlecht v Manchester United	L	2-1	UEFA Champions League
13 Apr 2017	Anderlecht v Manchester United	D	1-1	UEFA Europa League
20 Apr 2017	Manchester United v Anderlecht	W	2-1	UEFA Europa League